County Carlow (UK Parliament constituency)

County Carlow
County Carlow
Former county constituency; for the House of Commons
County	County Carlow
1801–1922
Seats	2 (1801–1885); 1 (1885–1922);
Created from	County Carlow
Replaced by	Carlow–Kilkenny

County Carlow was a parliamentary constituency in Ireland, which from 1801 to 1885 returned two Members of Parliament (MPs) to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, and one MP from 1885 to 1922.

History and representation

County Carlow had been represented by two seats in the Irish House of Commons. Under the Acts of Union 1800, it continued to be represented by two MPs, now in the United Kingdom House of Commons. It comprised the whole of County Carlow, except for the borough of Carlow, which was separately represented from 1801 to 1885. The borough of Old Leighlin was disfranchised under the Acts of Union 1800.

Under the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, the borough of Carlow was disfranchised and the county was reduced to one seat.^[1] It was the only Irish county not divided for electoral purposes in the 1885 redistribution. It was thus the only Irish county constituency to exist at every general election from the union with Great Britain to the establishment of the Irish Free State.

It was not affected by the Redistribution of Seats (Ireland) Act 1918. The 1918 general election was used by Sinn Féin as the first election to Dáil Éireann. James Lennon sat as a member of the First Dáil, abstaining from Westminster.

Under the Government of Ireland Act 1920, it was combined with the constituencies of North Kilkenny and South Kilkenny to form Carlow–Kilkenny as a 4-seat constituency for the Southern Ireland House of Commons and a one-seat constituency at Westminster.^[2] At the 1921 election for the Southern Ireland House of Commons, the four seats were won uncontested by Sinn Féin, who treated it as part of the election to the Second Dáil. James Lennon was one of the four TDs elected for Carlow–Kilkenny. It was never used as a Westminster constituency; under the Irish Free State (Agreement) Act 1922, no writ was to be issued "for a constituency in Ireland other than a constituency in Northern Ireland".^[3] Therefore, following a dissolution on 26 October 1922, no vote was held in Carlow–Kilkenny at the 1922 United Kingdom general election on 15 November 1922. The Irish Free State left the United Kingdom on 6 December 1922.

Members of Parliament

Notable MPs for County Carlow included Nicholas Aylward Vigors, a zoologist, John Ball, a naturalist and Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies, Arthur MacMurrough Kavanagh, and James Patrick Mahon.

MPs 1801–1885

Election	1st Member		1st Party		2nd Party
1801		William Henry Burton		Sir Richard Butler, Bt
Jul. 1802		David Latouche	Whig	Walter Bagenal	Whig
Oct. 1812		David Latouche	Whig	Henry Bruen	Tory^[4]
18 Apr 1816		Robert Anthony Latouche	Whig
Jun 1818		Sir Ulysses Burgh	Tory
Jun 1826		Thomas Kavanagh	Tory^[4]
May 1831		Walter Blackney	Whig^[4]	Sir John Milley Doyle	Whig^[4]
Dec 1832		Walter Blackney	Repeal Association^[5]^[4]	Thomas Wallace	Whig^[4]
Jan. 1835		Henry Bruen	Conservative^[5]^[4]	Thomas Kavanagh	Conservative^[5]^[4]
15 Jun 1835		Nicholas Aylward Vigors	Repeal Association^[a]	Alexander Raphael	Whig^[4]
19 Aug 1835		Henry Bruen	Conservative^[5]^[4]	Thomas Kavanagh	Conservative^[5]^[4]
18 Feb 1837		Henry Bruen	Conservative^[5]^[4]	Nicholas Aylward Vigors	Whig^[a]^[6]
Aug 1837		John Ashton Yates	Whig^[4]	Nicholas Aylward Vigors	Whig^[a]^[6]
5 Dec 1840		John Ashton Yates	Whig^[4]	Henry Bruen	Conservative^[5]^[4]
Jul 1841		Thomas Bunbury	Conservative^[5]^[4]
1 Jul 1846		William McClintock-Bunbury	Conservative^[5]
Jul 1852		John Ball	Independent Irish Party^[5]
25 Apr 1853		John Ball	Independent Irish Party^[5]	William McClintock-Bunbury	Conservative^[5]
Apr 1857		Henry Bruen (younger)	Conservative^[5]	William McClintock-Bunbury	Conservative^[5]
7 Aug 1862				Denis Pack-Beresford	Conservative^[5]
Nov 1868				Arthur MacMurrough Kavanagh	Conservative^[5]
Apr 1880		Edmund Dwyer Gray	Home Rule League^[5]	Donald Horne Macfarlane	Home Rule League^[5]
1885	representation reduced to one member

Notes

^ ^a ^b Vigors was a supporter of the Whig/Repealer pact, 1835–1841, and who in 1832–1835 had been MP for the borough of Carlow as a member of the Repeal Association.

MPs 1885–1922

From	To	Name		Died
1885	1886	Edmund Dwyer Gray	Nationalist	27 March 1888
1886	1887	John Aloysius Blake	Nationalist	22 May 1887
1887	1891	James Patrick Mahon	Nationalist	15 June 1891
1891	1892	John Hammond	Nationalist	17 November 1907
1892	1900		Irish National Federation
1900	1908		Nationalist
1908	1910	Walter MacMurrough Kavanagh	Nationalist	18 July 1922
1910	1918	Michael Molloy	Nationalist
1918	1922	James Lennon	Sinn Féin	13 August 1958

Elections

Elections in the 1830s

General election 1830: Carlow (2 seats)^[5]^[4]^[7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Tory	Henry Bruen	242	38.3
	Tory	Thomas Kavanagh	216	34.2
	Whig	Horace William Noel Rochfort	174	27.5
Majority			42	6.7
Turnout			371	70.0
Registered electors			530
	Tory hold
	Tory hold

General election 1831: Carlow (2 seats)^[5]^[4]^[7]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Whig	Walter Blackney	Unopposed
	Whig	John Milley Doyle	Unopposed
Registered electors			530
	Whig gain from Tory
	Whig gain from Tory

General election 1832: Carlow (2 seats)^[5]^[4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Irish Repeal	Walter Blackney	657	29.0
	Whig	Thomas Wallace	657	29.0
	Tory	Henry Bruen	483	21.3
	Tory	Thomas Kavanagh	470	20.7
Majority			174	7.7
Turnout			1,160	93.1
Registered electors			1,246
	Irish Repeal gain from Whig
	Whig hold

General election 1835: Carlow (2 seats)^[5]^[4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Henry Bruen	588	25.8	+4.5
	Conservative	Thomas Kavanagh	587	25.7	+5.0
	Irish Repeal (Whig)	Maurice O'Connell	554	24.3	−4.7
	Irish Repeal (Whig)	Michael Cahill	553	24.2	−4.8
Majority			33	1.4	N/A
Turnout			1,144	90.1	−3.0
Registered electors			1,269
	Conservative gain from Irish Repeal		Swing	+4.6
	Conservative gain from Whig		Swing	+4.9

On petition, Bruen and Kavanagh were unseated and a by-election was called.

By-election, 15 June 1835: Carlow (2 seats)^[5]^[4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Repeal (Whig)	Nicholas Aylward Vigors	627	26.2	+1.9
	Whig	Alexander Raphael	626	26.1	+1.9
	Conservative	Thomas Kavanagh	572	23.9	−1.8
	Conservative	Henry Bruen	571	23.8	−2.0
Majority			54	2.2	N/A
Turnout			c. 1,198	c. 94.4	c. +4.3
Registered electors			1,269
	Irish Repeal gain from Conservative		Swing	+1.9
	Whig gain from Conservative		Swing	+1.9

After a further petition, the poll was amended and 105 votes for Vigors and Raphael were struck off. Kavanagh and Bruen were declared elected.

Kavanagh's death caused a by-election.

By-election, 18 February 1837: Carlow^[5]^[4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Repeal (Whig)	Nicholas Aylward Vigors	669	51.4	+2.8
	Conservative	Thomas Bunbury	633	48.6	−2.9
Majority			36	2.8	N/A
Turnout			1,302	75.8	−14.3
Registered electors			1,718
	Irish Repeal gain from Conservative		Swing	+2.9

General election 1837: Carlow (2 seats)^[5]^[4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Repeal (Whig)	Nicholas Aylward Vigors	730	26.6	+2.3
	Whig	John Ashton Yates	730	26.6	+2.4
	Conservative	Henry Bruen	643	23.4	−2.4
	Conservative	Thomas Bunbury	643	23.4	−2.3
Majority			87	3.2	N/A
Turnout			1,373	77.2	−12.9
Registered electors			1,779
	Irish Repeal gain from Conservative		Swing	+2.3
	Whig gain from Conservative		Swing	+2.4

Elections in the 1840s

Vigors' death caused a by-election.

By-election, 5 December 1840: Carlow^[5]^[4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Conservative	Henry Bruen	722	56.5	+9.7
	Whig	Frederick Ponsonby	555	43.5	−9.7
Majority			167	13.0	N/A
Turnout			1,277 (est)	72.6 (est)	c. −4.6
Registered electors			1,759
	Conservative gain from Whig		Swing	+9.7

General election 1841: Carlow (2 seats)^[5]^[4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Conservative	Henry Bruen	705	25.2	+1.8
	Irish Conservative	Thomas Bunbury	704	25.1	+1.7
	Whig	John Ashton Yates	697	24.9	−1.7
	Irish Repeal	Daniel O'Connell	696	24.8	−1.8
Majority			7	0.2	N/A
Turnout			1,401 (est)	79.6 (est)	c. +2.4
Registered electors			1,759
	Conservative gain from Whig		Swing	+1.8
	Conservative gain from Whig		Swing	+1.7

Bunbury's death caused a by-election.

By-election, 1 July 1846: Carlow^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Conservative	William McClintock	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

General election 1847: Carlow^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Irish Conservative	William McClintock-Bunbury	Unopposed
	Irish Conservative	Henry Bruen	Unopposed
Registered electors			1,984
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Elections in the 1850s

General election 1852: Carlow (2 seats)^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent Irish	John Ball	895	25.2	*New*
	Irish Conservative	Henry Bruen	893	25.2	*N/A*
	Irish Conservative	William McClintock-Bunbury	880	24.8	N/A
	Whig	John Henry Keogh	877	24.7	New
Turnout			1,773 (est)	84.8 (est)	N/A
Registered electors			2,090
Majority			2	0.0	N/A
	Independent Irish gain from Conservative		Swing	N/A
Majority			16	0.4	N/A
	Conservative hold		Swing	N/A

Bruen's death caused a by-election.

By-election, 25 April 1853: Carlow (1 seat)^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Irish Conservative	William McClintock-Bunbury	Unopposed
Registered electors			2,039
	Conservative hold

General election 1857: Carlow (2 seats)^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Irish Conservative	Henry Bruen	Unopposed
	Irish Conservative	William McClintock-Bunbury	Unopposed
Registered electors			2,381
	Conservative hold
	Conservative gain from Independent Irish

General election 1859: Carlow (2 seats)^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Irish Conservative	Henry Bruen	Unopposed
	Irish Conservative	William McClintock-Bunbury	Unopposed
Registered electors			2,418
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Elections in the 1860s

McClintock Bunbury resigned, causing a by-election.

By-election, 7 August 1862: Carlow (1 seat)^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Irish Conservative	Denis Pack-Beresford	Unopposed
Registered electors			2,520
	Conservative hold

General election 1865: Carlow (2 seats)^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Irish Conservative	Henry Bruen	Unopposed
	Irish Conservative	Denis Pack-Beresford	Unopposed
Registered electors			2,449
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

General election 1868: Carlow (2 seats)^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Irish Conservative	Henry Bruen	Unopposed
	Irish Conservative	Arthur MacMurrough Kavanagh	Unopposed
Registered electors			2,309
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Elections in the 1870s

General election 1874: Carlow (2 seats)^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Irish Conservative	Arthur MacMurrough Kavanagh	Unopposed
	Irish Conservative	Henry Bruen	Unopposed
Registered electors			2,180
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Elections in the 1880s

General election 1880: County Carlow (2 seats)^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Home Rule	Edmund Dwyer Gray	1,224	33.0	*New*
	Home Rule	Donald Horne Macfarlane	1,143	30.8	*New*
	Irish Conservative	Arthur MacMurrough Kavanagh	714	19.2	N/A
	Irish Conservative	Henry Bruen	633	17.0	N/A
Majority			429	11.6	N/A
Turnout			1,857 (est)	84.0 (est)	N/A
Registered electors			2,212
	Home Rule gain from Irish Conservative		Swing	N/A
	Home Rule gain from Irish Conservative		Swing	N/A

General election 3 December 1885: Carlow^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Parliamentary	Edmund Dwyer Gray	4,801	86.5	+22.7
	Irish Conservative	Thomas Pierce Butler	751	13.5	−22.7
Majority			4,050	73.0	+45.4
Turnout			5,552	80.6	−3.4
Registered electors			6,891
	Irish Parliamentary hold		Swing	+22.8

Gray elects to sit for Dublin St Stephen's Green

By-election 29 January 1886: Carlow^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Irish Parliamentary	John Aloysius Blake	Unopposed
Registered electors			6,891
	Irish Parliamentary hold

General election 3 July 1886: Carlow^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Irish Parliamentary	John Aloysius Blake	Unopposed
Registered electors			6,891
	Irish Parliamentary hold

Death of Blake

By-election 24 August 1887: Carlow^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Irish Parliamentary	James Patrick Mahon	Unopposed
Registered electors			7,643
	Irish Parliamentary hold

Elections in the 1890s

Death of the O’Gorman Mahon

By-election 7 July 1891: Carlow^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish National Federation	John Hammond	3,755	70.9	*N/A*
	Irish National League	Andrew Kettle	1,539	29.1	N/A
Majority			2,216	41.8	N/A
Turnout			5,294	75.5	N/A
Registered electors			7,016
	Irish National Federation gain from Irish Parliamentary		Swing	N/A

General election 12 July 1892: Carlow^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish National Federation	John Hammond	3,738	82.1	*N/A*
	Liberal Unionist	Robert More McMahon	813	17.9	New
Majority			2,925	64.2	N/A
Turnout			4,551	66.2	N/A
Registered electors			6,874
	Irish National Federation gain from Irish Parliamentary		Swing	N/A

General election 20 July 1895: Carlow^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish National Federation	John Hammond	3,091	81.6	−0.5
	Irish Unionist	Steuart James Charles Duckett	685	18.4	+0.5
Majority			2,406	63.2	−1.0
Turnout			3,776	61.2	−5.0
Registered electors			6,168
	Irish National Federation hold		Swing	−0.5

Elections in the 1900s

General election 3 October 1900: Carlow^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Irish Parliamentary	John Hammond	Unopposed
Registered electors			6,454
	Irish Parliamentary hold

General election 17 January 1906: Carlow^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Irish Parliamentary	John Hammond	Unopposed
Registered electors			5,831
	Irish Parliamentary hold

Hammond's death causes a by-election.

By-election 3 February 1908: Carlow^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Irish Parliamentary	Walter MacMurrough Kavanagh	Unopposed
Registered electors			5,881
	Irish Parliamentary hold

Elections in the 1910s

General election 20 January 1910: Carlow^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Irish Parliamentary	Michael Molloy	Unopposed
Registered electors			5,905
	Irish Parliamentary hold

General election 9 December 1910: Carlow^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Irish Parliamentary	Michael Molloy	Unopposed
Registered electors			5,905
	Irish Parliamentary hold

General Election 14 December 1918: Carlow^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Sinn Féin	James Lennon	Unopposed
Registered electors			16,133
	Sinn Féin gain from Irish Parliamentary

References

Citations

^ "Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 (48 & 49 Vict., c. 23)". The public general acts. Proprietors of the Law Journal Reports. p. 184. OCLC 145381863.
^ "Government of Ireland Act 1920: Fifth Schedule". legislation.gov.uk. The National Archives. Retrieved 4 June 2023.
^ "Irish Free State (Agreement) Act 1922 (12 & 13 Geo. 5, c. 4), s. 1(4)". Historical Documents. Archived from the original on 15 March 2012.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w Smith, Henry Stooks (1842). The Register of Parliamentary Contested Elections (Second ed.). Simpkin, Marshall & Company. pp. 216–217. Retrieved 15 September 2018 – via Google Books.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w ^x ^y ^z ^aa ^ab ^ac ^ad ^ae ^af ^ag ^ah ^ai ^aj ^ak ^al ^am ^an ^ao ^ap ^aq ^ar ^as ^at ^au ^av Walker, B.M., ed. (1978). Parliamentary Election Results in Ireland, 1801-1922. Dublin: Royal Irish Academy. pp. 200, 256–257, 331–332, 385. ISBN 0901714127.
^ "Leicester Chronicle". 25 February 1837. p. 2. Retrieved 19 August 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
^ ^a ^b Salmon, Philip. "Co. Carlow". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 9 May 2020.

Sources

Salmon, Philip (1986). "County Carlow". In Thorne, R. (ed.). The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1790–1820. Boydell & Brewer. ISBN 0-436-52101-6.
Jupp, P.J. (2009). "County Carlow". In Fisher, D.R. (ed.). The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1820–1832.
The Parliaments of England by Henry Stooks Smith (1st edition published in three volumes 1844–50), 2nd edition edited (in one volume) by F.W.S. Craig (Political Reference Publications 1973)
Walker, Brian M., ed. (1978). Parliamentary Election Results in Ireland, 1801–1922. Dublin: Royal Irish Academy. ISBN 0901714127.
Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "C" (part 2)

External links

Oireachtas Members Database

[vigors-6] Vigors was a supporter of the Whig/Repealer pact, 1835–1841, and who in 1832–1835 had been MP for the borough of Carlow as a member of the Repeal Association.

[1] "Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 (48 & 49 Vict., c. 23)". The public general acts. Proprietors of the Law Journal Reports. p. 184. OCLC 145381863.

[2] "Government of Ireland Act 1920: Fifth Schedule". legislation.gov.uk. The National Archives. Retrieved 4 June 2023.

[3] "Irish Free State (Agreement) Act 1922 (12 & 13 Geo. 5, c. 4), s. 1(4)". Historical Documents. Archived from the original on 15 March 2012.

[stookssmith1842-4] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w Smith, Henry Stooks (1842). The Register of Parliamentary Contested Elections (Second ed.). Simpkin, Marshall & Company. pp. 216–217. Retrieved 15 September 2018 – via Google Books.

[walker-5] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w ^x ^y ^z ^aa ^ab ^ac ^ad ^ae ^af ^ag ^ah ^ai ^aj ^ak ^al ^am ^an ^ao ^ap ^aq ^ar ^as ^at ^au ^av Walker, B.M., ed. (1978). Parliamentary Election Results in Ireland, 1801-1922. Dublin: Royal Irish Academy. pp. 200, 256–257, 331–332, 385. ISBN 0901714127.

[7] "Leicester Chronicle". 25 February 1837. p. 2. Retrieved 19 August 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.

[hop1820-1832-8] Salmon, Philip. "Co. Carlow". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 9 May 2020.

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